Well, it's been an awfully long time since I updated, hasn't it? I know 'sorry' seems meaningless, considering how long it's been. I honestly planned on having this chapter out last year, but as with all things, life got in the way. Then I told myself I'd have done three months prior, but again, life. So, I won't waste time apologizing, since I know you all eager to get reading. So, enjoy!

Wednesday, En Route to Apartment Building- Evening

I ran as fast my legs would run, ignoring the water coming down my face, and the continuous beating of my overworked heart. Even as I ran, I did my best to avoid running into people, not that there were many out, which was a surprise. I didn't really have time to think about that right now though, as I was swiftly making my way back home to my apartment. Luckily, the arcade was in a part of Glenberry that I was familiar with, so getting home wouldn't take me too much time. …I hoped.

I continued running and panting all the way to my apartment complex and up the stairs where my apartment was. It wasn't until I had finally reached my door did I stop and take a large breath of air.

"Man…" I thought, wiping the sweat off my forehead with the back of my head. "…I think I just lost five pounds in a span of…"

I looked at the watch on my wrist as it read 5:50 P.M.

"…10 minutes." I sighed, as I patted my pockets, feeling around for my house key. I sighed again as I walked inside and was greeted with a blast of cool air from the A/C, which was very much appreciated.

"I'm home." I said, to no one in particular, though Kyu must have heard me as she came from the second story to greet me.

"Hey Champ." Kyu said, before taking a good look at me. "Wow, you look exhausted."

"Yeah, well you would be too if you just ran for 10 whole minutes." I said, still panting.

"You ran all the way back to your apartment?" Kyu asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well yeah. How else was I supposed to get back home?" I answered. "I don't exactly have a form of transportation, at the moment."

"Why didn't you just ask me to teleport you?"

…

…

"…What?" I asked.

"Did you forget I'm a love fairy who is blessed with awesome powers?" Kyu said, smiling as she complimented herself. "I could have easily teleported you here in a heartbeat, ya' know."

"…Why didn't you mention that earlier?" I asked, trying my hardest to contain the rage that was slowly building up inside me.

"Well, you didn't exactly ask." Kyu answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

For a long while, I tried my hardest to keep from reaching out and strangling this girl as my left eye twitched wildly. At the end, however, I simply sighed and looked back at the love fairy, exhausted.

"I'm not going to get into this," I said, shaking my head. "Just, in the future, please tell me these sort of things ahead of time. It would save us both some trouble."

"Will do, champ." Kyu said. I shook my head and waved her off. I was about to resume my way to the bathroom to wash up, but stopped as I realized something.

"What's wrong now?" Kyu asked, as if preparing for me to berate her on something.

I ignored her and continued looking around the room. After a moment or so, I slowly nodded my head.

"You actually did a good job of cleaning this place up." I said, turning my head around to look at her. "Nice work."

"Thanks champ!" Kyu said, showing her teeth as she smiled. "I mainly handled the downstairs, but Momo took care of your room."

"…My room?" I said, repeating her last words, as if I didn't quite hear her clearly.

"Yup! I heard a lot of strange noises coming from it, but I figured it was just her moving a lot of stuff."

I stared at Kyu for a few more seconds before turning around and racing quickly upstairs to where my room was located. I looked as the door was closed, and I hesitated to open it.

"Please don't let her have messed up my stuff too badly…" I thought, as I reached for the knob, turning it.

My eyes were shut tight before I cautiously opened them. They grew big and wide as I saw a small, petite catgirl curled up on my bed asleep, whilst clutching onto one of my pillows. I subconsciously blinked a few times as I stared at her as she silently breathed in and out.

"She looks really cute…" I thought as I walked up to her. I reached out and petted her head, making her smile in her sleep, which made me smile a bit too.

"Aww, so cute!" I heard someone from behind say, making me jump a bit. I recognized immediately that it was the voice of a certain love fairy.

"She's started to grow on you, hasn't she, champ?" Kyu asked as she leaned her head on my shoulder, watching me pet the little catgirl.

"Yeah, I guess so." I said, still smiling. "She's like the little sister I never had."

"Well, I'm glad!" Kyu said, smiling. "I knew I made the right choice when I brought her here."

"Yeah well, don't let it go to your head." I said, rolling my eyes at the love fairy.

"Yeah, yeah." Kyu said, waving me off. "Anyway, shouldn't you be getting ready for your date?"

"Oh yeah!" I exclaimed, almost forgetting about it. I hastily grabbed my bath towel and some clothes to put on after my shower.

"Hey wait!" Kyu called out to me as I was rushing out of the room. "What about Momo?"

I looked back at the catgirl, who was still soundly sleeping.

"What about her?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, you can't just leave her here, can you? What's Tiffany going to think?" Kyu asked, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, which it kinda was.

"Oh yeah." I said, slapping my forehead as I walked over to the catgirl. I was prepared to rouse her awake, but stopped as she suddenly yawned in her sleep, still clutching tightly to the pillow she was holding onto. I frowned and put my hand down, looking back at Kyu.

"I really don't want to wake her up, especially when she's cute and quiet like this." I said. "Can't you just, I don't know, use your fairy magic to make her… invisible or something?"

"Invisible?" Kyu repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, you know, just make her invisible to others, but she's still here… or something, like that."

"Hmm…" Kyu said, resting her head on her fist, as she was thinking. After a moment or so, she looked up, as if a lightbulb went off in her head.

"I know!" She exclaimed.

"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. My eyes grew wide as I looked at Kyu's hands, which were suddenly glowing white as, what looked like, an orb of pure energy appeared in them.

"A little bit of fairy magic, and…" Kyu said, smiling as she walked over to Momo, who was somehow still asleep.

"…Tada!"

I looked as the love fairy dropped the orb she was holding onto the sleeping catgirl. I didn't have time to see what was happening as the room suddenly got brighter, temporarily blinding me. I instinctively covered my eyes. After a moment or two, the light died down and I reopened my eyes, blinking a few times, trying to get my vision back.

"What the heck was that?!" I said, still blinking. I looked as the light vanished and in its place was a small, tannish kitten with brown stripes on its body.

"…Is that…?" I asked Kyu, as my eyes grew a bit.

"Yup! That's Momo." Kyu answered, smiling. "Isn't she cute?! I couldn't make her "invisible", so I though transforming her into an adorable, little kitten was the next best thing."

I blinked in response, looking at the feline, who, surprisingly, was still fast asleep, despite all the noise.

"Is… is she stuck like that?"

"No, the transformation is only temporary. She'll only be like that for the next three hours." Kyu explained.

"Three hours?" I repeated.

"Yeah. That was the best I could do." Kyu said, shrugging her shoulders. "So, you have some time, but try to keep an eye on the time, okay?"

"Got it." I said, nodding my head. "Thanks a lot, Kyu."

"No problem, Champ." Kyu said, smiling. "Now, don't you have a study date to get ready for?"

"…Oh yeah!"

I hastily grabbed a fresh pair of clothes to put on after my shower, and rushed past Kyu to the bathroom to freshen up.

"If Tiffany comes before I'm out, just have her wait in the living room, okay?" I called out to Kyu.

"Will do!" Kyu called back, as I closed the bathroom door. I sighed as I pulled my hot, sweaty clothes off my body and walked into my shower. I let out a short cry as I turned the faucet and was hit by a blast of cold water. I hastily turned the switch the opposite way and sighed in relief as the water began to warm up. For a while, I just stood there, still as a statue, letting the lukewarm water hit my entire body. This was something I recently started doing after a talk with Beli one day while I was in the gym…

*Flashback*

Wednesday, Fitness Club- Early Afternoon

"Come on, Charles!" Kyanna yelled in my ear, whilst pushing me on my back. "You can do it!"

"I-I can't!" I yelled, straining myself as I was desperately reaching for my left foot.

"Come on, just a little more!" Kyanna yelled pushing my back even more.

"I can't!" I yelled again, still straining myself to reach my foot.

"Yes, you can!"

"No!" I yelled, finally giving up, as my hands dropped down to my side. "I-I really can't, Kyanna. If I stretch any more than this, my spine is literally going to come out of my back."

"Fine." Kyanna said, sighing as she let go of me, allowing me to fall freely onto the gym floor, giving me a chance to catch my breathe.

After hearing that my classes had been canceled for the day and I didn't have to work until late in the evening time, Kyanna had forced me to get out of the house and head for the gym. I didn't really have much choice in the matter since she threatened to head my apartment herself if I didn't come to the gym within the next half hour. Kyu, who normally would have been all for me talking to girls and such, decided not to accompany me, due to her weird hatred of gyms and exercise.

So, here I was, trying and failing to stretch and contort my entire body with Kyanna acting as my personal trainer.

"You really have to work out more, dude." Kyanna said, lecturing me as she reached down and pulled me up on my feet. "You're never going to get in shape if you don't stretch every day."

"Sorry, but I just started working out recently." I said, rubbing the back of my head, embarrassed. "Besides, you're a lot more flexible than I am."

"Excuses, excuses." Kyanna said, waving me off. "There's never not a good reason for you to work out, champ."

"Yeah, I know." I said, still rubbing the back of my head.

"Kyanna, I sincerely hope you're not giving Charles a hard time." A voice said, making Kyanna and I turn around. We looked as Beli walked into the gym, carrying a gym bag, which I assumed was full of yoga equipment for her class.

"Of course not, Bells!" Kyanna argued. She then hit me hard on the back, making me almost fall over. "Just showing Champ here what happens when he doesn't keep up with a daily training regimen."

"Y-yeah." I said, a bit frazzled.

"Well, try not to work him too hard." Beli warned, though she was smiling. "I need him ready for the yoga class in 20 minutes."

"Yoga class?" I repeated, my spirit dropping as I really just wanted to go home and relax like I was doing before I got roped into this.

"Yes," Beli answered, a worried look on her face. "You'll come, won't you?"

"Umm…"

"Of course he will!" Kyanna said, grabbing me and put her arm around my neck. "We'll both be there! Right champ?"

"R-right…" I stated, even more frazzled than I was before.

55 minutes later…

"All… done…" I said, panting as I had picked up the last mat in the yoga studio. After about thirty minutes of doing stretches and poses, Beli had announced an end to the session, for which I was grateful. I was prepared to leave and head to the locker room for a quick shower, but Beli called me back and asked Kyanna and I to help her straighten up the room before leaving. Kyanna, unfortunately, couldn't be bothered to stay, as she had to hurry and get ready for her job at the mall, which meant I had to do all the work by myself. At first, I didn't think it would take too long, but I seriously underestimated how weak I was feeling and how many people we had in our class today.

"Thank you very much for your help, Charles." Beli said as I placed the last mat on top of the others in a corner of the studio.

"N-no pr-problem." I said, still panting as I pushed my back outward, trying to make it crack, so I could at least try to get some feeling in my body again.

"I know it's not my place to judge, Charles," Beli said, as she looked at me with a hint of concern. "But lately, I've noticed you're feeling a bit fatigued. Not physically, but mentally."

"Mentally?" I repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes." Beli said, walking up to me. She then grabbed me on the sides of my head and placed her forehead on mine. Her eyes were closed as if she was sensing something inside of me. I felt my face turn red, as my body temperature was steadily increasing.

"Uhh… Beli?" I said, still blushing.

"Shh." She commanded, her eyes still closed as she continued holding my head firmly in place. A whole minute passed before she finally opened her eyes and released my head.

"I was right." She stated.

"Right?" I repeated. "Right about what?"

"Your aura." She answered. "It's very stagnant, meaning it's not in sync with your body."

"Uhhh… is that good?" I asked, not really understanding.

"No Charles, it's not." Beli answered, folding her arms and shaking her head. "You need to relax more. Stress affects not only your body, but also your mind."

"Everyone keeps saying that." I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "I don't feel stressed. I feel… fine, really."

"It may seem that way, but stress has a habit of taking over when we least expect it. If you're not careful, you may wind up doing permanent damage to yourself."

"Oh." I said, still rubbing the back of my neck, as I was started to feel awkward, standing here being examined like a piece of meat.

"So, what should I do?"

"Well…" Beli stated. "I'd advise that you meditate more, but I think that would be a bit too much of a dramatic lifestyle change."

"Yeah…" I said. I didn't really know the first thing about meditation. All I knew is from what I picked up from books and T.V. shows. It was something about 'emptying yourself', whatever that meant.

"Instead, try this: next time you are in your shower or bathtub, try standing under the water for a short while." [1]

"…Huh?" I stated, confused.

"I know it may seem a bit out of sorts, but believe me, standing in water during short periods of time really does to help clear your mind and body."

"So… I should do this when I'm bathing or something?" I asked.

"Yes," Beli answered with a nod of her head. "It doesn't have to be long. You can start off with about 30 seconds and gradually work your way up."

"Uhh… okay." I said, looking at the yoga instructor, strangely.

"As I stated, I know it seems a bit out of sorts, but it will help you tremendously." Beli stated before taking my hands in hers. She then looked deeply into my eyes with a serious expression.

"Promise you will give it a try."

"Uhhh… alright, I promise." I stated. Beli continued looking into my eyes, before smiling at me.

"Good, I'm glad." She said, letting go of me. "I look forward to your results, Charles."

"Uhhh… right."

*End flashback*

"At first I didn't think Beli knew what she was talking about," I thought as I rubbed my body with a soapy washcloth.

"But after doing it for several times, I actually do feel a lot better afterwards."

I sighed as I let the water rinse all the soap off my body for a few moments before turning the faucet off and wrapping my large bath towel around myself as I stepped out of the shower. I stopped in front of the large mirror in the bathroom and wiped the steam off looking at myself.

"How handsome." I said, sarcastically as I looked at my red eyes and wet hair that was falling into my eyes. I wiped my damp face off with my extra towel, and looked at myself again in the mirror.

"Not too bad, I guess."

I quickly dressed myself, wearing a pair of loose black sweatpants and a gray t-shirt. I opened the bathroom door and looked as all the steam from the shower flowed out of the bathroom and into the hallway. I don't know why, but I chuckled at this, finding it amusing for some strange reason. I prepared to head back to my room, but as I walked past the stairs, I heard a couple of voices. One of them was obviously Kyu's, but the other one sounded foreign; very unfamiliar. It was obviously female, but not one that I heard before

Curiosity got the better of me, as I quietly walked down the stairs to the living room. As I got closer, the voices got louder and more clear.

"…Forget who you're talking to?" Kyu asked, speaking to someone. "I'm Kyu, the #1 love fairy in the universe! I always get results."

"Well, I sincerely hope so, Kyu." The voice said, sternly with a worried feel in it. "I've been reading the reports you've sent in, and I am not happy."

"Who is this person?" I thought, as I crept closer to the living room.

"So far, your client has met and spoken with a number of women, but has yet to have intercourse with any of them." The voice said, speaking. "Usually your clients cease being virgins at the end of the first week."

"Relax, will ya'?" Kyu said. "Charles is making great progress. He's already been on a date today with a shy girl, and he's got another girl coming over in a bit to help him study."

"Is… is Kyu talking about me?"

I peered around the corner to the living room, and my eyes grew big and wide as I looked at the person Kyu was talking to.

To say that she was a woman would be a complete understatement. She had to be around 130 lb. and stood about a foot or so taller than me. She had green hair that fell all the way to her thighs, and was adorned with a wreath that looked to be made out of pure gold. Her chest looked to be about the same size as Jessie's, if not more so. Her entire body was spectacular, really. She had wide hips that went nicely with the hourglass figure she had. As for her attire, it looked to be something you'd see in Greece or Rome. It was a red and white robe donned with some gold bracelets and some matching colored laces.

I continued staring at the woman, as she and Kyu continued to converse with one another.

"Well, I suppose its progress if he's actually going out with girls," The woman stated, folding her arms. "But that can only accomplish so much."

"I know, I know." Kyu said, waving the woman off. "I'll try harder, alright?"

"See that you do, Kyu." The woman said, as her body suddenly started growing with yellow energy. "We'll be in touch."

Suddenly, the light enveloped the entire room, blinding me, forcing me to cover my eyes. After a second or two, the light banished and the woman was gone. I was still in shock over what had transpired and I didn't know what to say or do. I must have been standing there for a while or so, since I didn't even notice Kyu when she happened to glance my way, spotting me.

"Champ?" Kyu called out to me, surprised. "Did you…?"

"…Listen to you and your friend?" I asked, answering her question. "Yeah, kinda."

"Seesh, anyone tell you it's rude to eavesdrop?" Kyu asked, rolling her eyes.

"Well sorry," I said, apologizing. "I just heard voices when I was coming out of the bathroom, and I didn't recognize one of them so I came downstairs to see who it was."

"Well, you could have at least introduced yourself. My boss would have changed her tone if she'd had met you, herself."

"Your boss?" I questioned.

"Yup, she was…"

Just as Kyu was about to reveal the name and identity of the mystery woman, the doorbell to the house rang.

"Tiffany!" I yelled out, rushing to the front entrance. I took a deep breath as I dusted off imaginary dirt stains on my t-shirt. I opened the front door to find… a person that was obviously not Tiffany.

"Hi there! It's my honor to be working for the happiness of all mankind!"

"…"

"I've been sent from the good Lord Almighty to bring forth the message of peace and prosperity today!"

"…"

"And it's your good fortune to have been chosen for…"

About a minute or so later…

"Wow Champ," Kyu said, staring at me with a bit of fear and amazement in her eyes as I poured myself a cold glass of water from the kitchen sink.

"I have to say I'm a bit surprised. You're the last person I expected to lose their temper like that."

"Yeah, I know." I said, as I quickly downed my drink, pouring myself another one soon after.

"I also never expected to see such a short, little, fat man like that run so fast in my entire fairy life." Kyu stated looking out the window as the salesman was still running out of the apartment complex.

"I know." I stated again, drinking my second glass of water.

"What did he say to get you so pissed off at him?"

"Nothing." I answered. "I just can't stand those fucking Bible thumpers knocking on my door every week. You'd think after the first few times they would have gotten the message."

Really and truly, I had nothing against people trying to bring people closer to Christ. I was a church-goer, myself, though I admit, I had slacked off a bit since I moved out of my parents' house. The problem I had with these guys is that they didn't know how to take 'no' for an answer. They didn't come every day, but they came around often enough to piss me off.

"Cheer up, Champ." Kyu said, floating over beside me. "You don't want Tiffany to see you with such a sour face, right?"

"Right." I said, almost forgetting why I answered the door in the first place. I sighed as I laid my head down on the table, resting for a bit until the doorbell rang a few seconds later.

"Not again…" I groaned, as I got up from the table.

"Maybe it'll be Tiffany this time?" Kyu asked, though I don't know if she was speaking to me or herself.

"It'd better be." I answered. "If it's another one of those f'ing door greeters, I may need you to hold me back so I don't kill him."

"Will do!" Kyu answered, cheerfully.

I sighed once more, and tried my best to straighten my face up so I didn't appear sour or unfriendly. I cautiously opened the door and looked outside to see a certain cheerleader standing in the entrance.

"Tiffany." I said, a little surprised to see her, though I don't know why.

"Hey! What's shakin', bacon?" Tiffany greeted, happily.

"Uhh… not much." I said, as I moved out of the doorway to let her in. As she walked in, I took a good look at her outfit. Outside of the uniform she always wore and her cheerleader outfit, which I can only vaguely remember since I never went to any of the school's football games or pep rallies, it was rare to see her in anything else.

She was wearing a sleeveless light blue and white plaid vest with some short blue-greenish shorts. She also had on a pair of long grayish boots that were white at the top.

"You look… nice." I said, still in awe of her outfit change.

"Huh?" Tiffany responded before looking down at herself. "Oh. Uhh… thanks. I didn't feel like wearing my uniform, and this was all I had that felt casual."

"Well, it works." I said, scratching the back of my head, awkwardly.

"Thanks." The cheerleader said, a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Aww, so cute!" Someone said, grabbing both me and Tiffany by the necks, surprising us both. I looked as a certain love fairy had changed into her human appearance, and was even wearing the dress she had on the night I met her.

"Gah! Kyu!" I yelled, as she was smiling at us.

"H-hey Kyu." Tiffany said, still a bit razzled by the love fairy's sneak attack. "Where'd you come from?"

"Oh, I've always been here." Kyu answered, still smiling. "I just found your interaction too cute to interrupt."

"Kyu!" I yelled again, upset. "Let go of us!"

"Alright, alright." Kyu said, letting go of Tiffany and I, as we both rubbed our sore necks. "Sees, excuse a girl for having some fun."

"You can have all the fun you want." I said, scowling. "Just not at my or my friends' expense."

"Yeah, yeah." Kyu said, waving me off, which only helped to make me more upset. "Well, I'll leave you crazy kids alone now."

"Wait, what?" I said, as Kyu headed for the entrance. "Where are you going?"

"Nowhere important." Kyu said, with a wink. "Chao!"

And with that, the love fairy closed the door, leaving Tiffany and I to stare at the doorway in bewilderment.

"What are you up to, Kyu?" I thought to myself. I was knocked out of my train of thought as Tiffany laughed beside me.

"What's funny?" I asked.

"Nothing, it's just…" Tiffany began. "No matter how many times I meet her, I'll never get over what a free spirit Kyu is."

"Kyu? A free spirit?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yeah, you must have thought that once or twice, right?" Tiffany asked. "She's special in her own little way."

"She's special all right," I nodded, my eyebrow still raised. "But I don't know if that's a good thing or not."

"Oh, you!" Tiffany said, hitting my arm. "Come on, let's get to work on your studies."

"R-right." I said, rubbing my arm as I lead my friend up the stairs to my bedroom.

"Hard to believe before Kyu came along, you had this whole place to yourself." Tiffany stated.

"Yeah, I didn't feel like getting a dorm on campus and I was too shy to have roommates, so my mom bought this apartment for me." I explained.

"You're so lucky. I wish I could get a whole apartment to myself."

"It's not all it's cracked up to be. Trust me." I stated as I reached the top of the stairs. "I still had to get a job in order to pay for rent and food, and my parents send me money only sparingly."

"Yeah, but still…" Tiffany said as I turned the doorknob to my room. I felt Tiffany's eyes scan every inch and corner of the room, liking what she saw.

"Wow," She said, as her eyes still scanned the room. "Your room is a lot more organized than mine."

"Thanks," I said, smiling. "When it comes to organization, I believe there's only one rule for it: 'a place for everything, and everything in a place.'

"Ha, that's nice. Mind if I steal it from you?"

"Go right ahead." I said, a grin on my face as I shrugged my shoulders.

"Thanks," Tiffany said, as she walked past my bed, until she stopped spotting something.

"Oohh!" She yelled out loud, as she picked up a certain kitty cat that was sleeping on the bed. "A kitty! That's so cute!"

"You think so?" I said, scratching the back of my head as Momo looked at the newcomer, curiously. If she was aware that her form had been changed, she didn't make any notice of it.

"I do!" Tiffany said, holding the brown-orange cat up, looking at it from all sides. "What's her name?"

"Oh, uhh… Momo."

"Momo!" Tiffany repeated, cooing at the kitten as she scratched her softly behind her ears. Apparently, Momo found this pleasurable as she began softly meowing.

"Aww, so cute!" Tiffany repeated, before looking at me. "You're so lucky. I wish I got to keep a pet at my house."

"Why can't you?" I asked.

"My grandparents," She answered, rolling her eyes. "That can't agree on what kind of pet they want to get." She explained, sitting on my bed as Momo crawled on her lap.

"My grandma would like a cat, but my grandpa doesn't think that cats are 'real pets'."

"Let me guess. He's a dog person?" I asked.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"My granddad is the same way." I said, rolling my eyes. "He once said, and I quote, 'A dog is truly worthy of being called man's best friend. Anything else is second-rate.'"

"Sounds like he and my grandpa would get along just fine!" Tiffany said, laughing.

"I can imagine!" I said, joining in her laughter.

After a while, we calmed down and joined each other together at my desk table where I usually did my homework.

"All right, ready to get started?" Tiffany said, as she pulled out some notes from her backpack.

"Yup." I said, as my Algebra book and notebook were already on the desk.

"Okay, good." Tiffany said, as she placed a sheet of paper in front of me with at least 10 math problems on it, all covering the topics we had studied this week and the week before.

"Before we get started, would mind solving these real quick? Just so we can see what you understand and what you need help with."

"Uhh… okay." I said, as I was staring at the problems as if they were in a foreign language or something. I'm sure I saw them in my algebra book somewhere, but I couldn't remember where. Truthfully, I was never good at remembering stuff like this. This is one of the main reasons I sucked so much at tests. I could study and study until my heart gave out, but my memory always failed me when it came time to put it in action.

I hesitantly picked up my pencil, and continued staring at problem #1. I tried desperately to remember at least one part of how to solve this particular math problem, but as I stated, my mind went totally blank.

"Charles?" Tiffany called out, knocking me out of my daze. I looked as the cheerleader was staring at me, a worried look on her face.

"You alright? You were staring at the first problem for a while now."

"Oh." I said, before sighing. "Sorry, I guess I don't understand this as well I thought. Even with all the studying and homework I do, I just can't remember how to solve it."

"That's why I'm here to help." Tiffany said, taking the pencil out of my hand, and scooting closer towards me. "Here, I'll show you an easy way that I do it."

"Okay." I said, passing the putting the paper in between us.

"First off, you to look at the second number first." Tiffany explained, writing down the procedure on paper. "Then you have to multiply it by the first number twice, like I explained earlier today, remember?"

"Yeah," I said, recalling what she had told me in the classroom this morning.

"Good. Now…" Tiffany said, jotting down more formulas and numbers on the paper. "…You multiply the answer you got three times, and then divide that answer by two, got it?"

"Got it." I said, my eyes glued to the paper as Tiffany continued to explain.

"After that, you multiply the answer you got by the first number and you'll have your answer."

"Ohh." I said, finally understanding. Work always seemed so much more simpler when you had someone explain it for you.

"You want me to do the next two problems before you do one yourself?" Tiffany asked.

"Sure, if you wouldn't mind." I said.

"Alright then." Tiffany said, as she pointed her pencil to the next problem. "For this one, it's just the same as the first problem. You just multiply…"

Several minutes later…

"Alright, think I'm done." I said, as I passed the sheet of paper over to Tiffany, who was petting Momo whilst she waited for me to finish.

"Alright, let's see how you did." She said, setting Momo down and taking a look at the rest of the problems she had left for me. I swallowed a lump in my throat as her eyes scanned each problem, looking to see if they were worked and answered correctly.

"Not bad, Charles." Tiffany said, as she set the paper down, and picked up her pencil. "You got all except one right."

"Aww." I said, dejected.

"Don't fret, champ." Tiffany said, as she once again scooted over to me. "Missing one out of seven isn't bad. It's just for this problem instead of dividing you have to…"

20 minutes later…

"…Okay, I think you got it nailed down!" Tiffany said, as she checked over the latest problems she had me do. I thought after we had finished with one sheet of problems, we'd be done. But alas, Tiffany was more prepared than I thought as she had produced a new sheet with more problems. I knew complaining wouldn't do any good, especially she was doing all this for my benefit, so I had no choice but to buckle down and get to work.

"Whew, glad that's over." I said, speaking aloud as I leaned in my chair.

"Don't get to relaxed, champ." Tiffany said, as she pulled her notebook out of the bag she had brought, turning to a clean sheet of paper.

"Now that you've got it all memorized, it's time to start the real thing now, don't you think?" She asked.

"Oh… yeah." I said, sighing as I pushed my chair back up to my desk.

"Aw come on, don't fret. We'll only do about half of these and then take a short break, K?"

"Yeah, that'll work." I agreed, turning in my math book to where the homework assignment was.

"This is good, cause now I can get started on mine." Tiffany said, as she scooted over close to me again. "Mind if we share? I forgot my book at home."

"Sure." I said, not really minding how close she was as my was preoccupied with all the math equations I was looking at. Sighing, I picked up my pencil and resumed work.

"Once more into the fray…" I thought to myself.

10 minutes later…

"Okay, now carry the six by the second number…" I thought as I was on my fourth math problem, still calculating away in my head. I cast a sideways glance at Tiffany, who was, absentmindedly, twirling her hair, whilst writing with down on her paper.

"I wonder if she has to study every night to be good at this or if it just comes naturally to her…" I thought, as I turned my attention back to my own paper.

"Okay, so after that, then we…"

My concentration was ruined as I heard the doorbell to the house ring.

"Not again…" I thought as I sighed, standing up from my desk.

"Who's that?" Tiffany asked, looking up at me.

"Not sure." I answered, as I walked out of my room, Momo trailing behind me. I sighed yet again as I walked down the stairs to the first floor.

"Wanna make bets that it's another Bible salesman?" I asked, speaking to no one in particular, though Momo 'meowed' in response. I don't know if she was agreeing with me or not, but it was nice that she was listening either way. Sighing, I opened the door… to find a blonde-haired young adult wearing a restaurant uniform carrying several long white boxes in his hands.

"Hello sir, I'm Jared from 'Marco's Pizza'." The man stated. "Your pizza is here."

…

…

…

"…Huh?"

Several minutes later…

"Ohh,, ham and pineapple!" Tiffany stated, as she happily took a slice from the box. "You didn't have to go through all this trouble, Charles! Thanks a lot!"

"…Yeah, no problem." I said, as I looked sorrowfully at my now empty wallet.

At first, I tried to explain that I hadn't ordered any pizza, but apparently, the order came from this apartment and was ordered online saying I'd pay with cash. The order even included the pizzas I usually ordered.

"Let's see: it couldn't have been me, obviously." I thought, rolling my eyes at the thought.

I looked down at Momo, who was amusing herself by playing with some yarn Kyu had bought for her.

"Momo doesn't know the first thing about a computer. And even if she did, she certainly wouldn't order pizza, considering she can't even eat it."

I sighed and pinched my eyebrows as there was only person left it could possibly be.

"I'm going to kill her…" I thought as I pictured a certain love fairy laughing at me.

"Charles?"

I was knocked out of my train of thought as Tiffany called out to me.

"You okay? You looked lost in thought."

"Oh, uhh… I'm fine. Sorry." I said, handing to the kitchen cabinet. "You want something to drink?"

"Sure, anything you've got is fine." She answered.

"K."

As I checked the fridge, I frowned as my choices of drinking items was very limited.

"Note to self: go shopping tomorrow after work." I thought before looking back at Tiffany.

"Sorry," I said, apologizing. "Afraid all I've got to drink is apple juice and some light beer." [2]

"Apple juice is fine." Tiffany answered. "I've got to drive back home tonight so I better not risk it with the beer."

"Got it." I said, as I poured both her and myself some juice before heading to the table. "Here."

"Thanks." She said, happily as she took a sip.

"No problem." I said, as I sat down beside her, pulling a slice of pizza from the box, biting into it. As I chewed, my thoughts turned to Kyu, a frown appearing on my face.

"I really shouldn't be eating this," I thought. "If I do, Kyu will just use it again to prove that she was right, and I don't want to give her anymore ammunition than I have to."

I looked down at my half-eaten pizza and shrugged, as I threw the crust into my mouth.

"Oh well, I'll let it slide just this once." I thought. "Doesn't mean she's not getting a lecture when she gets home, though."

As I thought on these things, a question appeared in my head, as I swallowed what was left of my pizza.

"Speaking of which, where exactly did she go? It's not like she has any real reason to leave the house. Is speaking with that weird lady friend of hers again? …Speaking of which, she never did actually tell me who she was."

"Charles?"

I snapped out of my train of thoughts, as I looked over at Tiffany.

"You okay there? You looked lost in thought."

"Oh, uhh… yeah. I was just thinking." I answered.

"Yeah, I figured. You do that a lot." Tiffany stated, a small smile on her face.

"Is that… bad?" I asked, curious.

"Not really, but you should be careful that you don't do it a lot. Otherwise, you could wind up making a big problem out of something small."

"Yeah, that's a good point." I agreed, nodding.

"Good. So now more thinking for the next 20 minutes or so. Let's just talk!"

"…What about?" I asked.

"I don't know. Anything!" Tiffany answered.

"…Okay." I said, as I tried to think of something to talk about, even though that's exactly what Tiffany was trying to prevent me from doing in the first place. Really and truly, I was never good when it came to small talk. It usually took someone else initiating the conversation for me to start conversing with them.

"Hmm… well, can you tell me what you're in school for?" I asked.

"Oh, that's easy. I'm studying to become a doctor." Tiffany answered.

"A doctor?" I repeated, a bit surprised.

"Well, not so much a doctor. I actually want to be a veterinarian." She explained. "I've always found animals to be much more approachable then humans, and I've always wanted to find a way to take care of them. That's one of the reasons I want to travel overseas someday, so I can find out different ways of caring for animals.

"That's cool." I said, impressed. "I don't know too many people who would choose to take care of animals over people."

"Thanks. It's been my dream since I was young. I've wanted to be one since I first went to the zoo with my… mom." Tiffany said, looking away as she said the last word, as if it brought back painful memories. I knew it was none of my business, so I didn't bother to ask.

"And that made you decide to become a veterinarian?"

"Well, there's a bit more to it, but yeah. When I saw all the animals there and all the people taking care of them, I thought to myself, 'I want to do that too'."

"Ha, that's kinda cute." I said, smiling as I pictured a young Tiffany looking around in amazement and wonder at all of the zoo animals.

"Oh, you!" Tiffany said, as she playfully hit my shoulder.

"Sorry, sorry!" I said, trying to fend her off attack.

"Hey, speaking of the zoo, did I ever tell you about the time my friends and I went there once for a scavenger hunt?"

"A scavenger hunt?" I questioned.

"Yeah, it was my friend Audrey's birthday, right? So, we all had to think of a good present to give her. And if you know her, she is incredibly finicky when it comes to stuff like that. Anyway, I came up with the idea to do a scavenger hunt at the zoo here in Glenberry, because I thought it'd be fun, and give us an excuse to look at the animals. So, we were at the zoo and…

Five minutes later…

"…In the end, we got arrested for trespassing. It was so humiliating riding in the back of a police cruiser. But it was also kinda fun." Tiffany said, finishing her story.

"Wow," I said, as I had listened to her story to the end. "What did your grandparents do?"

"Well aside from giving me a stern talking to and grounding me for about three months, they didn't do much." She answered.

"And what about Audrey?" I asked, curious to know what became of the queen bee.

"Well at first, she swore she'd never speak to me again cause she blamed me for getting her arrested." Tiffany said, rolling her eyes. "But then a week later, she said if I helped her with her homework, she'd consider speaking to me again."

"Yup, that's Audrey alright." I said, causing us both to laugh out loud, before we sat for a minute or two in a comfortable silence.

"This has been nice, hasn't it?" Tiffany asked.

"Yeah, it really has." I answered, thinking back on today's events. First with my date with Nikki, and now studying and talking with Tiffany.

"You know, I kinda envy you a bit." Tiffany stated, making me look up at her shocked.

"Envy me? Why?" I don't know what sort of reason anyone could have to be jealous of me for.

"Well, it's just the fact that you're here, living on your own, away from any rules and such." Tiffany explained. "You basically can do whatever you want without parents or anyone else bothering you."

I blinked and had to try with all my might to stop myself from laughing out loud. Instead, I simply coughed, clearing a lump in my throat.

"Tiffany, despite what you may think, my life isn't as glamorous as it seems." I explained. I waved my hand around, signifying the apartment "I may have this place to myself, but I have to work to keep it or I'll wind up losing it. The rent on this place alone takes a huge chunk out of my paycheck every two weeks. And that's without adding my student loans and such."

"Yeah, but still, I'd like to live you at least once. It must be nice being away from your family and stuff."

"I'd be lying if I said I'm not happy to be away from them, but that doesn't mean I don't miss them from time to time." I explained, thinking back to my family's smiling faces.

"I guess that's one place where we differ at." Tiffany replied.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"Well, I know this may seem kinda harsh, but I'd be perfectly fine if I never saw my mother again." Tiffany said, frowning. My eyes grew big and wide as I processed what my friend just said.

"…Really?" I asked, hoping that I may have misheard her or that she was joking in a way.

"Really." Tiffany answered, confirming my fears. "Like I said, it may seem harsh, but that's only cause you've never met my mom. If you had, you'd understand why I said what I said."

"Yeah, but still Tiffany…" I said, trying to get her to understand. "No matter what your mom has said or done, don't you think saying you 'never want to see her again' is going too far?"

"You don't understand, Charles." Tiffany said, her tone and expression completely forlorn. "My mom… she's done something that no child should ever have to know about her parent. What's more, she's still doing it and shows no sign of stopping."

I tried to process in my head what exactly a parent could do to make someone like Tiffany despise them so.

"What exactly did she do to make you hate her so much?" I asked, even though I knew I was treading into dangerous waters.

"I'd rather not talk about it." Tiffany said, looking the other way. I frowned and took a good look at Tiffany, trying to be discreet as possible.

"She doesn't have any bruises or show any signs of mental disability, so it can't be abuse." I thought.

"Drugs, perhaps? Maybe her mom uses or sells them? …No, as horrible as that seems, I doubt that would cause a child to loathe their parent so, unless she was forcing Tiffany to help her, which I doubt."

As I continued to think of numerous possibilities, the two of us sat there in an uncomfortable silence until at last Tiffany spoke up, knocking me out of my train of thought.

"Sorry," She apologized. "I didn't mean to ruin our time with something so dumb. I should have never brought it up."

"No, no, it's fine." I said. "I shouldn't have pried in the first place. My bad."

After that, the two of us again found ourselves immersed in a tense silence, with only Momo's mews filling the void.

"…You want to go finish up our homework?" I asked, finding it better to do than sitting around, moping.

"Yeah, that's fine." Tiffany said, smiling a small smile, trying to lift her spirits, though I know she was still feeling upset.

As we stood up from the table and walked back upstairs towards my room (with Momo happily trailing behind us), I found myself thinking only one thing:

"I really hope Kyu hurries back home…"

And that's the end of this chapter. Sorry if the ending left you wanting more, or was too depressing. This chapter was supposed to be a lot longer, but I had to cut it in half, because, as usual, life. I know I promised that there would be more 'mature scenes', but I'm afraid you'll have to wait for the next chapter for that. You won't have to wait long, since most of it is already written. Lord say the same, it may be out at the end of the month, but if it's not, then it'll definitely be out sometime in the summer when I'll have more free time.

I'd like to thank everyone who sent me PM's and emails asking how I was doing. Your concern and support is greatly appreciated. I hope you all continue to read, since it's people like who continue to give me the strength to carry on. Until next time!

[1]: This is actually something I do on a daily basis when I take a shower. It really helps to relax me. Unfortunately, I've only ever managed to get up to 14 seconds before my body can't take the cold or the heat.

[2]: When I wrote this, that was pretty much all that was in my fridge at the moment.